ICTA Announces 2025–2026 EMEA Award Winners

ICTA Announces 2025–2026 EMEA Award Winners

Knoxville/ Cologne – 22 April 2026: The International Cinema Technology Association (ICTA) today announced the winning cinemas of the 2025–2026 ICTA EMEA Awards, celebrating excellence in cinema design, technological innovation and showmanship across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The award winners are Kinopolis HafenCity: Best New Build Cinema 2025–2026, Kino Helios Gdynia: Best Cinema Refurbishment 2025–2026, and Stella Cinema Rathmines: Best Classic / Arthouse Cinema 2025–2026. The owners-operators of the winning cinemas will be presented with the awards on 21 June 2026 at 18:00 during ICTA’s EMEA Awards Reception at the CCIB (Centre de Convencions Internacional de Barcelona), on the eve of CineEurope. They will also contribute to the panel discussion “Innovation in Practice: Developing Award-Winning Cinema Experiences and The Role of Technology and Showmanship” at ICTA’s afternoon seminar at the Cinesa Diagonal Mar on the same day.

ICTA is the global association of cinema technology manufacturers, integrators, exhibitors and partners along the cinema value chain. It helps ensure that cinema remains the preferred choice for enjoying filmed entertainment by promoting excellence and investments in cinema technology. It enables motion picture industry professionals from around the World with an interest in cinema technology to connect and share knowledge. Each year, the association recognises cinema operators and individuals who set new standards for excellence through the ICTA EMEA Awards.

This year’s winners are:

Kinopolis HafenCity, Hamburg, Germany – Best New Build Cinema 2025–2026
Dr. Gregory Theile, CEO, Kinopolis Group

Kino Helios Gdynia, Gdynia, Poland – Best Cinema Refurbishment 2025–2026
Tomasz Jagiełło, CEO, Helios Cinemas group

Stella Cinema Rathmines, Dublin, Ireland – Best Classic / Arthouse Cinema 2025–2026
Karl Geraghty, Head of Stella Cinemas

ICTA’s International Directors jointly congratulate all award winners:

“We are proud to recognise cinemas that combine technological innovation with outstanding showmanship. This year’s winners demonstrate a remarkable diversity of approaches — from cutting-edge new builds to advanced refurbishments and distinctive classic/ arthouse concepts — each setting new benchmarks for the cinema experience in its own way.”

 

The cinema companies comment on their recognition:

Dr. Gregory Theile, CEO of Kinopolis Group:

“With Kinopolis HafenCity, we have brought our vision of a modern, high-quality, and forward-looking cinema to life. Driven by our passion for cinema, we set out to create a place where thoughtful design, atmosphere, cutting-edge technology, and exceptional comfort come together to deliver truly memorable experiences. It was our ambition to create a space where audiences can experience films in the most immersive and compelling way possible, while celebrating the unique magic of cinema itself.

We are deeply honored and sincerely grateful that the ICTA has recognized Kinopolis HafenCity as the Best New-Build Cinema in EMEA. This award is not only a strong affirmation of our belief in the future of cinema, but above all a tribute to the exceptional dedication, creativity, and commitment of our entire team who made this vision a reality.”

Tomasz Jagiełło, CEO of Helios S.A.:

“This recognition is especially meaningful to us, as it confirms the direction we have consistently pursued in the development of our cinemas. The Gdynia project was far more than a refurbishment – it was a conscious effort to redefine the cinema experience, uniting technology, design, and audience comfort in one coherent vision.”

Karl Geraghty, Head of Stella Cinemas:

“We’re truly honoured that Stella Cinema has received this award. Our entire team puts their heart into creating a memorable experience for our audience and it means so much to have that hard work recognised. We’re deeply grateful to everyone who has supported us along the way.”

Mark Mayfield, Chairman of ICTA, added:

“These awards recognise not only outstanding buildings, but the vision, passion and expertise required to create truly exceptional cinema experiences. At a time of continued transformation in our industry, it is inspiring to see operators investing with such confidence in the future of theatrical exhibition. Congratulations to all the winners and their teams for setting new benchmarks across EMEA.”

The award winners will be honored during ICTA’s Award Reception on 21^th June at 18:00 in Barcelona. They will also contribute to a panel discussion at ICTA’s afternoon seminar at the Cinesa Diagonal Mar on the same day.

Professionals who would like to attend the awards reception and/or  ICTA’s seminar can register on www.icta-web.com in the events section.

 

Cinema operators are invited to participate free of charge and should email jr@janrunge.com to register and join us to celebrate their peers and attend the seminar.

 

A media library covering each of the cinemas is accessible (here)

 

Further inquiries:

 

Jan Runge

ICTA International Representative

jr@janrunge.com

#491792404702

Genter Str. 25

50672 Köln

 

Selected solution partners of the winning cinemas:

 

Kinopolis HafenCity, Hamburg:

 

Design: Chapman Taylor

Cinema Light Design: mbeam

Lobby Light Design: Lumen³

Seating: forum by Nowy Styl and D-BOX Motion Seats

Projection: Barco

Sound: Dolby and QSC

Premium Large Format: Dolby Cinema

3D: RealD

 

Kino Helios Gdynia, Gdynia:

 

Design: Gieraltowski Architects

Lighting: iGuzzini, Marset

Seating: Megan Seating, Figueras Seating

Premium Large Format: IMAX with Laser, Helios Dream

Projection: Christie Real Laser CineLife+ / IMAX with Laser

Sound: Dolby Atmos, Dolby 7.1, Dolby 5.1 / IMAX 12.1

Speakers: Martin Audio, Christie Vive Audio / IMAX

Screen: Harkness Screens; IMAX Strong / MDI Inc.

3D System: DepthQ 3D / IMAX 3D

 

Stella Cinema Rathmines, Dublin:

 

Cinema Technology & Integration: CinemaNext Ireland

Projection: Barco (SP4K15B Laser Projector)

Automation & System Integration: CinemaNext PAA20+

 

 

 

Previous Winners of the ICTA EMEA Awards include

New Build Screen of the Year – EMEA

2015 – CinemaPink Akmerkez, Turkey (Serdar Sener, Selim Yavuzoglu)
2016 – Vue Cinema Alkmaar, Netherlands (Ron Sterk)
2017 – Hollywood Megaplex Pluscity + IMAX Pasching, Austria
2018 – Cinestar 4DX, Mall of Split, Croatia (Hrvoje Krstulovic)
2019 – CGV Mars, Ankara Atakule, Turkey (Hakan Asker)
2020 – Muvi Cinemas, u-Walk site, Riyadh (Adon Quinn)
2021 – Kinepolis Leidschendam, Netherlands (Eddy Duquenne)
2022 – UGC Ciné Cité Part-Dieu, Lyon, France (Hugues Borgia)
2023 – Cineplexx Ljubljana, Slovenia (Christof Papousek)
2024 – The Light Redhill, United Kingdom (James Morris and Jo Lee)
2025 – EMOTION Kino Monheim am Rhein, Germany (Julian Rüttgers and Thomas Rüttgers)

Best Cinema Refurbishment of the Year – EMEA

2018 – Cineplexx Millennium City, Vienna, Austria (Christof Papousek)
2019 – Odeon Leicester Square, United Kingdom (Carol Welch)
2021 – Filmpalast Kassel, Germany (Juliane de Boer)
2022 – Cineworld Belfast, United Kingdom (Shaun Jones)
2023 – Cineplex Münster, Germany (Ansgar and Anselm Esch)
2024 – CinemaxX Berlin, Germany (Frank Thomsen and Geoff Moore)
2025 – Omniplex Wigan, United Kingdom (Paul John Anderson)

Classic Screen of the Year – EMEA / Arthouse Cinema of the Year (since 2023)

2015 – Imperial Copenhagen, Denmark (Jan Petersen, Jan Rasmussen)
2016 – Odeon Leicester Square, United Kingdom (Mike Bradbury)
2017 – Tennispalatsi, Helsinki, Finland (Veronica Lindholm, Janne Uusi-Kölli)
2018 – Zoo Palast Berlin, Germany (Joachim Flebbe, Sascha Rybnicki)
2019 – Bio Capitol, Stockholm, Sweden
2020 – Pathé Tuschinski, Amsterdam, Netherlands (Jacques Hoendervangers)
2021 – Cinemateket Oslo, Norway
2022 – Le Grand Rex, Paris, France (Alexandre Hellmann)
2023 – Sittard, Netherlands (Marie-Rose Vandenbergh)
2024 – Lumière Cinema Restaurant Café, Maastricht, Netherlands (David Deprez and Aerd de Boode)
2025 – The Prince Charles Cinema, London, United Kingdom (Gregory Lynn)